Exist Archive
| Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Spike Chunsoft tri-Ace[2] |
| Artist(s) | Mina Taro |
| Composer(s) | Motoi Sakuraba |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing[2] |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky (Japanese: イグジストアーカイヴ, Hepburn: Igujisuto Ākaivu) is a role-playing video game developed and published by Spike Chunsoft, with assistance from tri-Ace, for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 video game consoles. It was released in Japan on December 15, 2015. An English localization was announced on April 25, 2016 by Aksys Games, scheduled for release in October of the same year.[1]
Gameplay
The game is a side-view, side scrolling Japanese role-playing video game, similar to tri-Ace's previous Valkyrie Profile series of video games.[3][4] Many journalists considered it a spiritual sequel to Valkyrie Profile.[3][5]
Story
The game involves the player following twelve youths who are killed by an explosion in modern-day Tokyo.[6] After their deaths, they find themselves on the fantasy-like planet of "Protolexa".[4]
Development
The game was first announced in July 2015, as a collaboration between Spike Chunsoft and tri-Ace in a fourteen-page article in Weekly Famitsu.[7] The game will be developed by much of the same tri-Ace staff that had worked on the first Valkyrie Profile game, with assistance from Spike Chunsoft staff as well.[5] Other key staff for the game include character designer Mino Taro of Konami's Love Plus series, and music composer Motoi Sakuraba, composer for tri-Ace's Valkyrie Profile and Star Ocean series.[7] A trailer for the game was shown at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2015.[8] Trailers for each of the game's characters were released over time through Famitsu's Youtube channel.[9] The game was first announced to be released on November 26, 2015,[3] before being delayed to its final release date, December 17, 2015.[6] Shortly after the game's Japanese release, Spike Chunsoft announced that there would be downloadable content collaborations some of tri-Ace's other games, including Valkyrie Profile and Star Ocean 5 games.[10] The collaborations, released in March 2016, consisted of character costumes based on character's from the two afforementioned titles, along with a costume to dress up as Monokuma, the primary antagonist from Spike Chunsoft's Danganronpa series of video games.[11]
Until April 2016, no information had been announced in regards to an English language release of the game.[10][11] NIS America, a frequent publisher for Spike Chunsoft games in English (Danganronpa 1, Danganronpa 2, Danganronpa Another Episode), gave a "no comment" response when asked about localizing the title.[5]
On April 25, 2016, Aksys Games announced that they would be localizing Exist Archive for release in North America on October 18, 2016.[1]
Reception
Famitsu gave both the Vita and PS4 versions of the game a 33/40 rating, with the four reviewers giving the title scores of 8/8/8/9.[12] The game sold 37,398 copies in its opening week in Japan, with 17,414 copies sold for PlayStation 4 and 19,984 copies sold for PlayStation Vita. [13]
References
- ^ a b c d Miscevich, Danny. "Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky Launches October 18 on PS4, PS Vita". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment America. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
- ^ a b c "Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky". IGN.
- ^ a b c "Spike Chunsoft And tri-Ace's Exist Archive To Release On November 26 In Japan". Siliconera.
- ^ a b "Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky first screenshots". TechnoBuffalo.
- ^ a b c "Exist Archive is tri-Ace's Spiritual Successor to Valkyrie Profile".
- ^ a b "Exist Archive Trailer Shows Us An Overview And The Importance Of Bonding". Siliconera.
- ^ a b "Spike Chunsoft x tri-Ace RPG Exist Archive announced for PS4, PS Vita". Gematsu.
- ^ "Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky Trailer - TGS 2015". IGN.
- ^ "4 Character Trailers for Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky". PlayStation LifeStyle.
- ^ a b "Exist Archive getting Star Ocean 5 and Valkyrie Profile collaborations". Gematsu.
- ^ a b "RPGFan News - Exist Archive Gets Free Star Ocean 5 DLC Costumes".
- ^ "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1410". Gematsu.
- ^ "Media Create Sales: 12/14/15 – 12/20/15". Gematsu.